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Life and Revolution: “Papa Francisco: The Pope Francis Story”

Thursday, September 17, 2015

The life of Pope Francis, Roman Catholic church’s 266th
Pope who was elected in March 2013 will soon be unveiled in Philippine cinemas
on September 30 in the upcoming film “Papa Francisco: The Pope Francis Story”
also known as “Francis: Pray For Me.”

Based
on the book “Pope Francis: Life and Revolution” by acclaimed journalist
Elisabetta Piqué, a close friend of the Pope and a correspondent in Italy and
the Vatican for La Nación, Argentina’s main newspaper, Pique offers an intimate, in depth portrait of Pope
Francis, drawing on interviews with over 75 individuals including lay people,
priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope s family and friends, as well as her
relationship with the Pope as a close family friend.

The
book’s film adaptation, “Papa Francisco: The Pope Francis Story” tells of Pope
Francis’ early life and his path to the papacy, including his decision at the
age of 20 to train as a priest against the wishes of his mother, his
appointment as the youngest Provincial of the Society of Jesus at a time when
the order was in crisis, his studies, his teaching career, his exile in
Cordoba, his appointments as auxiliary bishop of Rome, as Archbishop of Buenos
Aires and as a Cardinal, before becoming Pope at the age of 76. The film continues to share the Pope’s
battles against prostitution, drug trafficking and slave labor – defender of
the poor and the oppressed, he stood against the powerful against all odds.

Since
Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis in 2013, countless books have been
written to help the world understand this deeply complex yet simple servant of
God. What sets Pope Francis: Life and Revolution apart from all other
biographies of Pope Francis is the careful research and original investigation
behind it, along with the fact that it is written ePub by an internationally
respected journalist—Elisabetta Piqué—who has remained close to the Pope since first
meeting him back in 2001.

Taking
on the titular role is Award-winning Argentine actor Dario Grandinetti, who
starred in Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk to Her,” will play the former Buenos Aires
archbishop Jorge Bergoglio.

The
actor and the film’s producer and director met with the Pope prior the film’s
production, “We hope this film will transmit the admiration all of us feel for
the coherence of a life based on austerity and charity, and that will inspire
people,” said director Docampo Feijoo, who also wrote the script for the film.

“Papa
Francisco: The Pope Francis Story” in cinemas September 30 from Pioneer Films.